I did not know anyone who died in the 9/11 attack.

[MineralMan]

My wife did, though. A friend of hers, from many years ago, was on the 96th floor, right where the second plane hit. She didn't know that at the time, though, and only found out weeks later. Still, we watched that horror all day as it unfolded. We were up early in our California home and saw the second plane impact the building. We watched everything that happened that day, leaving our work for another day. We're both self-employed, and simply did not go to the office suite we rented. We watched.

Now, 10 years later, we watched the memorial events in NYC for a couple of hours this morning. Then we went back to work. My wife came back out of her office in our home when they were reading names to hear the name of her friend. Sadly some talking heads interrupted just when his name was about to be read.

We aren't watching all day this year. But, we spent some time watching. We remember that morning very well. We saw it unfold. Yes, it was 10 years ago. Now, we live in St. Paul, MN, not in California. Our work has changed, the economy has changed, and our lives have changed. All, in part, due to what happened that day and the aftermath of wars and economic decline.

So, we watched for a while today. Now, we're both at our desks, writing to meet deadlines. We have to do that. It's our job. But, we're remembering. That's what most Americans are doing today - remembering what happened 10 years ago. Some will watch all day. Others, like my wife and I will only watch for a couple of hours. Some will ignore it completely. Each person will do what seems most appropriate, and that's just fine. Each person decides for him or herself how to approach the 10th anniversary of this event. There is no reason to question anybody's response to it. That simply makes no sense. It affects each individual in a different way, and their response is appropriate to that individual.

[BeFree]

1. Watch the videos of the collapse

Everyone should get a big screen TV and a DVR so you can slo-mo, reverse and forward.
TV is showing videos never before seen on TV.
It's like having a new view on history.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. Can you see the pre-determined explosives that caused the collapse?

...neither could I, but, according to several DUers, you CAN!:crazy:

[MineralMan]

4. This thread is not about any of that.

It's about individual responses. There's a whole forum here for people who want to discuss conspiracy theories. Please, let's not make this simple thread into a CT thread. That's not what it's about. Thanks.

[Dennis Donovan]

14. So you didn't get the joke?

:eyes:

[MineralMan]

16. What joke was that?

I'm not a mind-reader.

[Dennis Donovan]

18. That I was mocking the CT's...

...man, do I have to put a sarcasm smiley on EVERYTHING????

[MineralMan]

21. I don't really know you, so I have no idea what you think.

It's a mistake to think that people understand what is not said. Every post is its own thing, really. If you are being sarcastic, it either has to be very obvious, or signaled. If you say something that sounds like what some people say here, it's not going to be recognized as sarcasm. In any case, this thread was not about why the towers fell. It was just about the fact that they did and how that affected people. I wasn't expecting any CT stuff at all in this thread, joking or serious.

[Dennis Donovan]

22. ...or, you're severely irony-challenged.

...which likely applies in this case.

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[MineralMan]

24. No, I don't think so.

I don't think so at all.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MineralMan]

28. Indeed I was. So were many other DUers. What's your point?

A lot of people have posted on FR in attempts to convince them that they're wrong. As you note, I disclose this in my profile. Why do you suppose I do that?

[Dennis Donovan]

31. No idea... I have never been a contributor to FR....

...guess I'm a "freak" DUer, since I've had no desire to convince stupid people how stupid they are. I will always let them discover that themselves (with the resulting head explosion).

However, you were compelled... for years... to try to find a middle ground with history's equivalent of the Nazi Party. Your tolerance knows no bounds. Mine stops with sheer ignorance.

[MineralMan]

33. How was I compelled? I find your interest in stuff that happened

many years ago to be odd. I have over 30,000 posts here on DU since I joined in 2008 - two years after my last post on that other site. You can find out what I think in those posts, if you care to. :shrug:

[Dennis Donovan]

35. I was heading to Manhattan that day...

Odd?

I've been on DU since 3/2002 (oh, fuck, a PISSING contest:eyes:). What exactly is your rather-weak point?:shrug:

[MineralMan]

36. I don't have a point in this subthread.

My point is the subject of the thread. It has not changed.

[Dennis Donovan]

40. ...then why did you accuse me of such a thing?

:crazy:

[MineralMan]

41. Oh, dear. I didn't accuse you of anything. I said that this thread

was not about truthers. Your post was unclear as to its meaning.

[MineralMan]

3. To what end should I do that?

I saw it happen when it happened. Multiple times. Buildings collapsed. People died. What is the utility of doing what you recommend?

Sorry. You're welcome to do as you see fit. I'm not doing what you suggest. I saw it happen. Now, I'm doing something else. This thread has nothing to do with that.

[RC]

6. Have you seen any videos of the collapse from the roof line down?

I have. Shortly after it happened. They got pulled. Now they only show a pixelated close up of the hole, till the collapses get to the hole, then it switches to the full shot, so you cannot see where the collapse starts from, but you see the rest.

[MineralMan]

7. This thread is not about that.

You can find threads about that somewhere else.

[Dennis Donovan]

15. .

:eyes: Nothing got pulled. Just because you don't see them in "Loose Change" doesn't mean they aren't still available.

[FarLeftFist]

5. I knew 2 young firefighters who died that day. RIP

[MineralMan]

8. So many lost their lives that day.

I'm sure you're remembering those people you knew. My nephew is an L.A. County Firefighter. He and a couple of others from his department are in NYC today and are participating in some events there. He didn't know anyone who died, but considers all firefighters as brothers. I come from a family of firefighters.

[tularetom]

9. Everyone is free to react to the events of this day as they see fit

What I object to is the endless prattling of the news media about how the tragedy of 9/11 "brought us together" and "strengthened America's resolve".

When of course it did just the opposite. Our "leaders" used it as an excuse to start needless and costly wars all over the globe, slashed our civil liberties to ribbons, and fostered division between ideologies here at home.

The net effect was to divide the nation and turn us all into wusses. I'm such a wuss I can't even type the real word that I believe it turned us into.

I don't know anyone who died or was injured in the attacks. I don't believe I even know anyone who knew anyone. I've seen it before, I choose not to watch it again.

Watch it if you wish. It's still a free country, or at least it was last time I checked.

[MineralMan]

12. Yes, as I said in the OP. How people react is their deal.

I can't really comment on the reactions of others. Each person has his or her own reactions. I can, however, say how I react.

[JHB]

10. The son of one of the proofreaders in my department at the time...

...was checking some equipment in the top of the north tower that morning.

I didn't lose anyone, but I did lose places: places where I did things and saw things, and had memories attached. The diner where I'd go for for breakfast on some Sundays, among many other things.

Not anywhere near the same category as people, but not nothing either. Some places can last for thousands of years, and others can be wiped out in moments.

[MineralMan]

11. I think most people are only a degree or two of separation from

someone who died there, or are affected in some other way. Despite the size and the diversity of this country, the death of more than 3000 people in one event ends up with most of us knowing someone who knew someone who died. I've visited NYC before and since 9/11. I often found myself in the vicinity of the WTC on those visits. The gap is very apparent in the skyline now. Those who are unaffected have their own perspective. I can't be among them, though.

[ZombieHorde]

13. Recommended. I am surprised a "we all deal with tragedy in our own way" post is

On The Fence.

[MineralMan]

17. Thanks. I gave up even thinking about recs, etc. a long time ago.

It never makes much sense. I just post what I want and leave it at that.

[ZombieHorde]

20. I like to check out the On The Fence threads, because they usually have interesting debates

and colorful comments. But some of the threads seem so innocuous, their presence on that list makes me scratch my head.

Perhaps some people are unreccing all 9/11 threads because they consider the topic "over done."

[pintobean]

19. There might be a clue here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1917269&mesg_id=1917269

[MineralMan]

26. Yes, I suppose there could. That was a different thread, though.

Why not just say what you think right here? Why link to another thread? Just say what you have to say.

[pintobean]

32. You do things your way, I'll do things my way.

Isn't that the basic point of your OP?

[MineralMan]

34. Indeed it is the point of my OP. Thanks for recognizing it.

I was just asking.

[JI7]

23. i find it too painful to watch

i didn't know anyone personally that died either. but just everything that happened was so horrible.

mostly it hurts to think about the people who were trapped up there waiting and hoping to be rescued but ended up dying. the people who fell or jumped to their deaths. the ones where it wasn't instant.

it's just thinking how people were just going on with their lives. an ordinary day in most people lives. and what that day turned out to be.

i also keep thinking that after the first plane hit people in the other tower i think were told everything was ok and they could stay in the building. i know there is no way people could have known what happened and that it wasn't an accident. but i wish they had all left the buidling. how many more people would have been saved.

i guess one good thing is that it does seem like there is more attention on the victims this time.

[MineralMan]

25. I sure understand that. When I think about the horror the people

in those buildings went through, along with the people who were on the scene, it's very hard to think about for too long.

[Little Star]

29. I didn't know anyone who died in the attack either...

My husband and I had (a few years earlier) stayed at The NY Marriott World Trade Center Hotel when we took a bus trip sponsored by my work place. We have never reminisced about that trip after 9/11 before today. We were trying to recall just how the buildings and the underground mall that we could get to with out leaving our hotel were set up. I came across this map and thought some may like to see it. It gave me a clearer prospective than any pictures I've seen of the area.

Here is a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_the_Mall_at_the_World_Trade_Center.svg


After thought:
The view from Windows on the World was amazing.

[MineralMan]

30. I never stayed in that hotel. When I'm in NYC, I stay in a small

hotel near Lincoln Center. I've been to that part of the city, though, many times, and have had meetings in the WTC.

[slackmaster]

37. My brother knew several. I met one of them once. We lost a family member on Pan Am 103.

9/11 is a hard day for us. We still have people in the military.

[MineralMan]

38. Thanks for your post. I can only imagine how hard it must be

for your brother.

[etherealtruth]

39. We all have our way of remembering significant people and events in our lives

I did not know anyone personally that lost their life that day, but I clearly understand that thousands upon thousands of people were deeply effected (on very personal levels)by the events of that day.

I haven't watched or listened to much of the media programming ... I frankly don't care how the Chimp, Rice, Cheney and the rest feel about that day. I have turned some show on the History Channel on ... and I'm listening to stories of what individual people experienced that day. I understand their need to discuss and observe this day ... to share their experience.

Most of the coverage is far too painful for me to watch/listen.

I do what I need to do for myself ... and have no issue with others doing what they need to do.

It has never given me the urge to chant USA ... but, the pain and personal loss other's have experienced moves me.